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Published: November 26th 2010
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Left Ballarat after a fairly horrendous night. A storm began just as we were going to bed. We have been in heavy rain before while in the van and it has never been a problem, however this night it was. The old tin can has sprung a leak.
As Ian was Lying in bed he had a constant drip, drip, drip on his chest and Xavier had water just seeping into his bed via the back wall. So some major moving around had to be done. Ian removed the table and set up a bed on the floor. I slept with the baking dish, collecting the water and waking every so often when a big splash made it to my face or the remant odours of baked dinners long gone wafted across the bed. Poor Xav was so tired he slept with one side of his bed wet.
Trying to pack up in Ballarat the next morning was the last straw. We are definitely ready to head home. We packed up the annexe in the rain and headed NORTH!! We had originally decided to go through Bendigo on the scenic route but we need to just get going -
so the dual carriage way via the Melbourne by pass was the way to go. A bit of a 20 minute detour thanks to the "navman" had us all a bit short tempered But we eventually got going.
Heading from Melbourne the freeway is excellent, past Glenrowan ( didn't even feel like stopping off at Ned Kelly country!) and then in the distance we saw the Murray and NEW SOUTH WALES. A big breath.... Arrived in Wagga as Peter Siddle got his hat- trick.
The fabulous Reynolds family joined us at the East River Caravan Park in Wagga for a lovely BBQ diner and a catch up. It was fantastic to see them all after such a long time. Heard a quick outline of Georgia's latest novel.... can't wait for it to be released!!! Go Georgia!!
Friday 26th
Packed up the van and headed over to Wollundry Avenue to see Ian's Auntie Marie McCoy and then together, visit Marcia and Paul's Cafe " Mate's Gully" - only organic produce and much of it straight from their farm and all walls exhibiting Paul's art work. We can recommend the Risotto, Roo Burger and the Caramelised onion tart, macaroons
and banana bread. Just delicious!! Marcia must have more than 24 hours in her day, I was tired just hearing about what she has planned.
Aunty Marie as always, as one passer by was heard to say, ' looked beautiful'. We did try not to bore her with our stories and photos but it is a bit hard when she is so gracious and expresses her interest in wanting to always hear what we have been up to.
Instead of heading to Canberra, we have pushed on to Sydney. With "whooping cough" , a broken ankle, school, Brett and Fiona's 17th Wedding Anniversary, we really wouldn't have been arriving at a particularly convenient time. So here we are at The 'Sydney Gateway' Caravan Park right opposite Parklea Markets. We have worked out Ian has travelled 14,000 kms and the boys and I have travelled 8000 km. We are tired and ready for home.
Heading in to the city tomorrow for a few hours only then it is New England Highway here we come!!! We have the van booked in to have a few dents pulled out on Monday and then after we have thoroughly cleaned it out,
Ian will return the van back to Bribie Island and there will end our caravan adventure!!
What can we say about caravaning and our journey?
Has it been what we thought it would be? Yes, in that we have stayed in some wonderful places and have seen so much of this amazing country. We have loved it. At the end, I feel a greater sense of understanding, and dare I say it, 'belonging' to this land. I am well aware now, that I was living under a rock and knew very little about Australia, a little embarrassed perhaps that we are a little bit too NSW-centric.
The caravan has not been so hard to live with as it becomes your home with all your things around you, albeit shoved into cupboards, nooks and crannies. But your food is in your fridge, you cook your own meals just as you would at home. The small space is difficult to deal with but in reality all four of us are only ever in one room when we sleep. Usually we are in the annex or the kids are swimming or playing in the games room.
The space hasn't been as big
an issue as we thought and perhaps the real problem is when you roll over in bed and the whole caravan moves. Lachlan wriggles a lot and really didn't have a lot of space to throw his legs around without hitting the ceiling. ( Poor Dave had to sleep there too!!)
What have been the highs? Us being a family and doing all of these things together,... sharing the moments. The fact that the annex doesn't get put up without us all doing our bit. The kids happily and easily just do the washing up, collect the washing and ensure it is folded, everyone pitching in with NO moaning (usually). Driving is easy. Swimming with the kids, fishing, snorkelling, our day at Esperance, climbing and walking Kings Canyon. The fact that straight roads are good to drive on. 130kms/hr in NT is great. Running your day by the sun, going to bed when the sun goes down and getting up when it rises. The slower pace of a life without a "BELL" ringing and segmenting your day into 45 minute lots!
What are we looking forward to? Eating our meals at the dinner table! Using a china plate not a plastic one. Sleeping in our own beds and waking up and knowing that when you open the front door it will be a place you recognise.
So - a fantastic opportunity did not pass us by - The kids were at the right age and the Long Service Leave was well and truly needed!! Perhaps it was more expensive than we thought and we are actually cutting it short by three weeks, but we have been able to see when enough is enough and know that seeing anything else "significant" would probably just not register. Our heads are full!!
To all who have read our blog - we hope you enjoyed it. The beauty of this site is that I can press a button now and it all gets printed into a book!!
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